Just in time for fall and Halloween, the comedic story involving seances and ghosts, “Blithe Spirit,” comes to the San Juan Community Theatre.
:In addition to October being Halloween, this play is pertinent to our current time,” Director Joy Van Camp said, explaining why she chose the play. “Noël Coward wrote to distract and lift the spirits of the English people during World War II. I, personally, feel that the world news climate of today attracts us to humor just as strongly! We need it.”
To say Noël Coward was a prolific writer is a gross understatement, Van Camp continued. He wrote 50 plays and hundreds of songs between 1910 and the 1970s. “I hope our production of ‘Blithe Spirit’ will give a small glimpse of the elegance and wit he brought to the world.”
“Blithe Spirit” was a smash comedy hit both on the London and Broadway stages, and has been made into a movie twice, once in 1945 starring Rex Harrison as Charles, Constance Cummings as Ruth, Kay Hammond as Elvira, and Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati. It was remade in 2020, starring Dan Stevens as Charles, Isla Fisher as Ruth, Leslie Mann as Elvira, and Judi Dench as Madame Arcati.
The plot revolves around a cantankerous novelist, Charles Condomine, played by Patriki Holaman in this local version, when he finds himself haunted by the ghost of his late first wife, Elvira, played by Alisha Halverson.
Charles and his second and current wife, Ruth, played by Corinne Morrell, invite local eccentric medium Madame Arcati, played by Heather Mueller, to hold a seance.. Charles invites his friends, Dr. and Mrs. Bradman (Scott Mapstead and Amy Hull), for character inspiration from Madame Arcati for his latest book. The seance is first deemed a failure. Slowly and surely, however, it becomes obvious Madame Arca has brought Elvira into the Condomomine household. Unable to be seen or heard by Ruth, Elvira takes advantage of the situation and mischievously creates trouble between the married couple. The shenanigans go off rails when Elvira unwittingly causes Ruth’s death, resulting in Charles being haunted by both of his now-deceased wives.
Frustrated by their situation, the trio calls on Madame Arcati once more to send Elvira and Ruth back to the other side. Intensely funny and character-driven, ‘Blithe Spirit’ combines farce, emotion, and wit to great effect, the Theatre describes on its website.
“ I love comedy- all kinds of comedy. ‘Blithe Spirit’ has been called a farce- a play where the situations in the plot drive the comedy,” Van Camp says. “Here, the ghost of a man’s first wife not only haunts him, but disrupts the lives of his entire household- and his second wife! There are classic scenes between him (Charles Condimine) and both wives where the confusion of who is speaking to “invisible who” is extremely funny.”
Island attendees will recognize many of the seasoned local actors; Holeman, Halverson Mueller, Morrell, Mapstead, Hull and Lorien Paterson as Edith. “Each has committed a larger than usual chunk of dialog to memory,” Van Camp said, adding that prompters Carolyn Haugen and Anessa Knowles, have helped immeasurably in that effort,” Van Camp said.
In spite of being written in 1941, according to Van Camp, “Blithe Spirit” and its timeless human experiences are very easy to grasp. Any dated references are easily understood.
“I have searched for deep meaning in ‘Blithe Spirit,’ but,” Van Camp said, “ like most great art, it defies simple explanations. I suppose the obvious takeaway is that ‘unfinished business’ comes back to ‘haunt’ us!”
The play runs from Oct. 3 – 19, Thursday – Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $27 for adults, $15 for students, or $5 at the door. Thursdays are pay-what-you-can nights.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit https://sjctheatre.org/.
Contributed photo
